The Marauders' Faults and Pride
by We're All To Blame
Summary: Four part story. Each chapter is about the different marauders in the order of Moony, Wormtail, Prongs, and Padfoot. I took the other one down so there's no confusion, and I'm going to replace the broken chapters and expand on James' and Sirius'.
1. Moony: A Werewolf's Tale

**I remember going back  
****To the place we used to lay  
****But I keep losing track**

The little boy ran. The twisted, knobby branches scratched and bruised his aching, exhausted body as his feet, fleeing in the growing, blinding darkness, barely caressed the ground. He didn't care. It didn't matter anymore. His worst nightmare was coming true in an all too frightening reality.

He hadn't listened. He had though his parents to be too overbearing and superstitious, even if he was too young to know those words. Even when he hadn't realized they understood what terrorizing monsters lived in the woods.

He had been on his way to visit his beloved clearing to watch the full honey moon reflect its beautiful silver-gold light on his parent's lake surface. Too late had he seen the black figure bent over crookedly, apparently satisfying bloody hunger on an unfortunate animal.

He had stepped closer if only to figure out the kind of animal. He had then set foot on that cursed twig. It didn't make much noise, but it was enough. The creature had swiveled around, its teeth dripping with the blood of the victim that wasn't quick enough.

He had figured out the species now, however. He couldn't believe he had been so insanely naïve as to question his parents' superior intelligence concerning the woods. If only he could feel them hold him; tell them he was sorry for disobeying their wishes. But he knew, he knew deep inside as the growling grew louder, that he would never see them again. His favorite clearing, the very thing responsible for this disaster was etched distinctly into his mind.

**And now the days they all turn black  
****And our dreams all start to fade  
****But there's no turning back**

He would never be an Auror. His mother would never be there, sitting in a chair at his graduation from Hogwarts. He would never see the pride on his father's face as he accepted his first employment.

How he wished he could sit by the lake's shore in the summer once more, he hoped for one more lingering moment between him and his parents. Longed (though, he wasn't quite sure), to see his new friend- a little redheaded girl- one last time. Most of all though, he wanted faster legs to get him away from this beast, toward his desires.

He tripped.

This was his last thought as he endured a stinging sensation on his backside, and vision plunged into unseeing darkness as a human figure came running up.

His father was leading Remus into the woods with an unforgiving chain wrapped around his young cherubic neck. Tonight was the full moon.

**Cause the world keeps turning  
****(Why do you tell me you care if you're not going to change?)**

Remus used to love the nights every month when the full moon came out. Like a ball ready to be played with and tossed around. Since his rendezvous with the werewolf though, the full moon had become a burden, a curse. As the round moon drew near and nearer still, he had noticed a change in his parents' behavior. They became more interested in the things around them then they were looking their son in the eyes.

Remus recalled when he was naïve enough to believe his parents when they told him they would love him no matter what. Of course, they might still love him, but he was growing increasingly frustrated with the way they would keep on a leash, figuratively and literally.

**And my heart keeps burning  
****(Why do you tell me you care?)**

As his father tied him to a sturdy tree and walked wearily back to the house, Remus felt a burning stab of jealously in his heart at the normalcy of his father's. Going home, sitting by the fire, waiting for the sunrise to return his son to "normal."

_But,_ Remus thought with scornful rage, _it's all for my own good right?_

Then the moon came out, the man on it jeering as if to say, _Time to play again tonight!_ And Remus fell into a familiar, formidable opaque.

A tall and gangly child made his way through the throng of kids shoving onto the ruby train. His parents were behind him whispering for him to behave himself and to "please remember to thank Dumbledore for trusting your judgment on your monstrosity."

Remus sighed and muttered something about he would remember, but he had to get onto the Express. He managed to give them the slip and think about what he wanted to do once he in school.

**What if I change the world  
****If I lead the way **

He knew almost immediately.

He would study more about werewolves (his parents had never allowed to touch a single book about them) and figure out a cure so that no one would have to worry about them again.

**What if I be the one  
****That takes the blame**

It was the least he could do since it was his stupidity in the place that sprung another "thing" onto humanity.

**What if I can't go on without you  
****What if I graduate**

He knew that without Hogwarts though, he would never achieve that dream. If he just stayed on top of his game, he should be able to graduate in no time.

**What if I don't  
****What if I don't**

What if Dumbledore realized the error he'd made in letting a werewolf practice magic? Or worse: what if he couldn't do magic at all and he flunked all of his classes while the wizarding world laughed at him?

_There's only one way to find out._

**Now I'm slowly giving up  
****As the world keeps losing faith  
****And you still turn your back**

_Maybe this time I'll be able to make friends,_ Remus thought as he walked into the Great Hall. It seemed as if everyone was looking at him and Remus became nervous. _Who am I kidding? I'll never make friends. Everyone I meet seems to have been friends since the beginning of their lives._

**Now the path I follow  
****Takes a toll on me  
****On you**

He thought of his parents and how they still barely scraped across his eyes with their own. He thought of the few friends that he had managed to capture over the six years and how they had pieced together his unexplained illnesses once a month. He hadn't seen them since he saw the realization and fear in their eyes.

**But there's no turning back**

Remus was so lost in his thoughts, that he almost didn't hear the Deputy Headmistress.

"Lupin, Remus." _Well,_ Remus thought, panicked, _there's no backing now._

"GRYFFINDOR…"

Remus Lupin waved goodbye to his mother and father as he boarded the train with his friends: James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.

**Cause the world keeps turning **

"Come on Moony. _Come on._ Come on, come on, come _on_." Sirius said impatiently. "I want to make sure those nosy first years don't steal our compartment. Hurry _up_." He was doubled over in theatrical, emotional pain, and his features were twisted into a gruesome caricature of a creature being tortured.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Firstly, Sirius, the year wasn't long ago in which you were once a first year." Sirius took this time to look at James and mumble, "Why does he have to talk that?" Remus, however, pressed on. "Secondly, no first years would ever make the mistake of sitting where we have been for the past four years."

Sirius grinned. "I can't wait until we get to Hogwarts! I have a good feeling about this year fellas. A feeling that says we're finally going to get it under control."

Remus smirked. "You mean, you're maturity problem?" James and Peter snickered. Sirius scowled.

I _meant_ the skill James, Peter, and I have been working on since second year." Sirius smiled again. "We're going to master it, and we'll be able to help you, Moony, like friends should be able to."

**And my heart keeps burning **  
**(Why do you tell me you care?)**

Remus looked at his friends and thought about how they were all different from each other. Sirius, the heartthrob, with his remarkable mixture of mischief and sadness in one little glint in his eyes. James, the Quidditch captain, with his unbeatable compassion for others (with the exception of the Slytherins). Last, but not least, Peter. With his willingness to help out a friend even when he was obviously busy, they were instant friends.

_Maybe,_ Remus thought, _perhaps being a werewolf isn't so bad if it helps decide who your true friends are._

**I'll be waiting here  
****For you to call me**


	2. Wormtail: A Traitor's Story

**We're not gonna be  
****Just a part of their games;  
****We're not gonna be just the victims.**

Peter Pettigrew, an alarming chubby boy with a height problem, was waiting for his turn to be sorted.

_Oh, I hope that I get Gryffindor. Please, please, please, please let me get Gryffindor…Well, maybe Ravenclaw, but not Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Maybe-_

Before he could finish the thought, a couple of boys ran into him from behind. When he asked them, politely of course, to please watch where they were going, one shouted, "We _were_ watching. How are we supposed to make it past THAT _without _bumping into you?" At "that", he pointed to Peter and his taunting face earned laughs from everyone. Peter felt his cheeks go red. He would never gain any friends.

"Pick on someone else, will you?" A handsome boy stood before him, with sandy hair hanging over his icy amber eyes, which were now flashing dangerously with rage.

**They're taking our dreams  
****And they tear them apart  
****'Til everyone's the same.**

"Why are you defending him? He's not going to make it very far. Haven't you heard that his parents are Squibs?" A boy, different from the first, sneered. He had blond hair and piercing blue eyes, which told the guy defending Peter to back off.

He wasn't intimidated. "I don't judge people by their blood or parentage, Smith." The boy affirmed quietly.

"But you do judge wizards by their houses, right?"

"It's a great deal less than blood judgment, what with the dark wizard that's rising. Rumor has it that he makes decisions on whether people die solely on their blood and lineage…sounds a bit like what you're into."

"Pettigrew, Peter." The Deputy Headmistress called out. Peter was thankful the boy had decided to step in for him, but he was also grateful to get out of that uncomfortable situation.

"Hmm…GRYFFINDOR…!"

**I've got nowhere to go  
****I've got nowhere to run**

A couple of months later, Peter was cornered by the same Smith boy who had harassed him at Sorting. Peter tried to shove past, but he was flung back against the wall.

"Where are you trying to go, Pettigrew?"

**They love to watch me fall,  
****They think they know it all.**

Peter braced himself for what he knew was to come. He only hoped the senseless beating would not last as long as the previous one had. Then he felt the inevitable fist collide with his stomach.

Peter was used to all the physical and verbal abuse dealt him every day, he had been for years. But that was all right, he would rather be the person in the reflected light of the glorious spotlight on someone else.

Peter thought of all of the people he had known for years. They had hated him and let him forget it. They had picked at everything from his frame and his inability to stand up for himself, to his secondhand life and his lineage.

**I'm a nightmare, a disaster-  
****That's what they've always said.  
****I'm a lost cause, not a hero  
****But I'll make it on my own.**

**I'm gonna prove them wrong-  
****It's me against the world.**

But Peter had a plan. Soon he _would_ be respected- even if it was respect for the people he hung around with…

Peter had been running around with his friends the Marauders, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Sirius Black. Now, however, they were sitting in the Headmaster's office where James and Sirius were calm and amused, Remus was ashamed, and Peter was stuck in between nervous and terrified.

**After all the things I've done for you,  
****You never try to do the same.**

Why did he listen to them? Why didn't he just say no when they teased and flirted with the line? Peter knew why, along with the rest of the school's staff and students: he longed to be accepted. Yet, even with his "friends" he seemed to receive the short end of the stick.

**It's like you always play the victim  
****And I'm the one you always blame.**

"Sir, if I may speak in my own defense…" Sirius charmed.

Albus Dumbledore gave Sirius a wink and simply stated, "Of course, Mr. Black."

"Well, Sir," James butt in, "in all fairness, _we_ weren't the ones performing the prank; _Peeves_ was."

"Oh?" The aging man questioned with a youthful twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah," Sirius confirmed. "Besides, it was all Peter's idea." He shot Peter a look that told him to play along with this turn of events. Peter didn't understand why he was supposed to take the punishment fall this time- it was an unspoken yet firm rule that the Marauders would take responsibility for failed pranks if it was their own idea. After looking at the raven's expression, however, he knew Sirius wasn't going to say his was his joke, yet he also knew Dumbledore could hand him over to Filch without a second thought, and the school caretaker would give him an impossible, harsh, or even cruel punishment.

"Mr. Pettigrew? Do you have anything to say in your defense?" The Headmaster asked. He knew Peter couldn't have thought of the prank on his own (for it had involved the young ladies' lavatories), but without his conformation he would have to be punished as the one responsible.

Peter took one last look at Sirius and James; they would _not_ take the fall for their actions. He looked at Remus who shook his head to tell him not to do it. "No, Sir, I-I do not," he mumbled as Remus had a silent tantrum. That was okay though; it was better to have his best friend mad at him than the "twins."

Dumbledore glanced between the four Marauders and his eyes held Peter's face for quite a bit longer. "Very well," he sighed as he drew up a punishment for the boy.

As Peter washed up what Peeves had left behind, he began to think back on what happened. How could Sirius and James pin it all on him when it was their idea? Peter had merely told the prank to Peeves when they had asked him to. Why didn't Remus tell Dumbledore the truth? More importantly, why didn't Peter stick for _himself_?

**When the tables turn again  
****You'll remember me my friend  
****You'll be wishing I was there  
****For you**

He watched a group of Slytherins, some Ravenclaws and even a few Hufflepuffs walk past.

He enjoyed living in a sort of moonlight- where the reflected sunlight of his friends' popularity and reputations shone on him where he would bask in their glory. But with all of Sirius weight jokes and jabs at Peter's respect for James (that's ALL it was), and James' snickers of all of these made his already fragile self-esteem break years ago. Remus' quiet seething did nothing but aid their torment of the chubby boy anyway.

Peter let out a breath to get back to himself- he didn't hate Remus. He'd never hated Remus. Remus had always been on Peter's side from the beginning, starting with the time he'd helped him during their Sorting. And perhaps James didn't realize just how much Sirius made fun of Peter, or how much his "brother" could hurt Peter with aforementioned jibes. Maybe none of them knew how much time the young chubby teen spent with his head in his pillow crying. He knew they were kidding, he truly did, but sometimes the memories before he met them were large storm clouds, and they overshadowed the good times he had with his new friends. But everyone who had ever hurt him would regret making a fool of Peter Pettigrew.

Even the great, untouchable Marauders.

**I won't look back  
****When I say goodbye  
****I'm gonna leave this hole behind me  
****Gonna take what's mine tonight **

"Time for initiation; are you ready?" An older, much taller boy asked from behind a mask.

"Y-yes, Lucius." Peter couldn't help being nervous; he knew it would be painful. However, he would now have a group to belong to, even more so then the one he'd hung around for Remus and James. Only one made it clear he didn't want the former Marauder there. Severus Snape. Peter wasn't concerned though; he could prove himself and his loyalty later.

They were beyond Hogwarts grounds of course, getting past Hagrid with a few bottles of fire whiskey. As they approached the Dark Lord, Peter was filled with filled with fear and exhilaration; however, he worked hard on keeping his expression unreadable- judging by Voldemort's amused face, it wasn't working.

The initiation went as smoothly as it could- he didn't even stumble or stutter! Finally, Peter's new master placed his wand on Peter's left forearm. Although he tried to stifle it, Peter screamed in agony. Afterwards, it still stung a bit but he was filled with happiness. He belonged and had a brand to prove it. No more Marauders treating him like someone lesser than them. Now he was a Death Eater and if there were any altercations with anyone, they would be dealt with swiftly and accordingly.

Permanently.

**'Cause every wasted day  
****Becomes a wasted chance;  
****Gonna wake up feeling sorry  
****If life won't wait, I guess it's up to you.**

Years passed and Potter, Black and Remus had never caught on to Peter's double standards. In fact, Black and Potter were daft enough to allow _Peter_ to be Secret Keeper! Ha!

Now, with a kind of bounce to his step, he was on his way to the Dark Lord.

**So thank you  
****For showing me  
****That best friends  
****Cannot be trusted.**

As Voldemort praised him for his loyalty and moved to destroy the Potters, his "friends," he thought about his actions.

This would hurt James, and his precious _Lily,_ and that disgusting baby…Sirius would be blamed because they had switched in secret; Remus would still be Peter's friend, not knowing who the _real_ culprit was…

And Peter? Peter would continue to exist, knowing along what he was capable of mentally and emotionally, and knowing what he'd done to those people, those friends who'd been his first companions. And he'd be the one having to live with that knowledge, seeing the faces of the ones affected by his actions and his inactions. He'd have to live with the face in the mirror, sneering back at him, always, _always_ knowing what monster had hidden in wait beneath the fragile skin.

And he could, and he would because he _had_ to. He'd made the choice and had done nothing except continue within the set course for that choice.

**And thank you  
****For lying to me.**

They had chosen their own fate. Well, Sirius and James had. Remus would be left alone because he had been a good friend most of the time; only a few times did they actually have arguments.

Unfortunately for the Marauders, even Remus, they had underestimated Peter; and right from the start they had played right into his hands. He didn't, in fact, he _couldn't_ feel sorry though; they never had. It was as Sirius once told him tauntingly:

It was all a game of Survival of the Fittest, and this time Peter was the winner.

**Your friendship, the good times we had;  
****You can have them back.**

* * *

**A/N: O.o ****I decided to expand on this chapter, James', and Sirius' as well. I thought they needed more background and, on Prong's and Padfoot's part, a less literal take on the songs they were given. I also decided Remus didn't need this treatment unless you guys think otherwise; please tell me if you enjoyed these retakes better than the last. (I also tried to fix some of the grammar and other technical problems but I probably created new ones…. Oh well! XP)**


End file.
